Todd White tries to regain Ward 5 trustee seat, and other municipal election news
A former public school board chair is vying once again for the job of Ward 5 trustee.
Todd White, who helmed the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board for several years, lost a tight race in the east Hamilton ward in 2018 to Carole Paikin Miller - the wife of his former boss.
White said at the time he believed the outcome was linked to his dismissal in the lead up to the Oct. 24 election.
A longtime assistant to Paul Miller, White was fired in August 2018 after he filed a complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal alleging the East Hamilton-Stoney Creek MPP bullied staff and made racist, sexist and homophobic comments.
In March of this year, the New Democrats booted Miller from the party over racism allegations, which he has denied. He ran unsuccessfully as an independent in last month's provincial election.
Meanwhile, Paikin Miller's term as trustee has been embroiled in controversy after a school board racism probe resulted in sanctions against her and a request by her colleagues that she resign.
To date, Paikin Miller has not indicated she is seeking another term.
Another noteworthy contender is Ahona Mehdi, a former student trustee whose allegations of racist behaviour prompted the third-party investigation.
She is running for trustee in Wards 8 and 14 on the west Mountain - a position currently held by Becky Buck, who, along with Paikin Miller, was among the four trustees scrutinized in the probe.
There are fewer than 100 days until the election, and 31 candidates have registered to run for school board trustee in Hamilton.
In Ward 4, west of the Red Hill Valley Parkway, Ray Mulholland, who has been a trustee for nearly 50 years, is seeking re-election.
Trustee hopefuls
Here's a list of registered candidates in local school board races as of July 22:
English Public: Ward 1 (Graeme Noble, Elizabeth Wong, Cameron Prosic); Ward 2 (Sabreina Dahab, Andrew Smyth); Ward 3 (Maria Felix Miller); Ward 4 (Ray Mulholland); Wards 5 and 10 (Nancy Silva Khan, Todd White); Wards 6 and 9 (Miranda Butler, Jay Edington, Kathy Archer); Wards 8 and 14 (Ahona Mehdi); Wards 11 and 12 (Amanda Fehrman, Tom Patterson, Charlie Wang); Ward 13 (Larry Masters, Paul Tut); Ward 15 (Catherine Kronas).
English Catholic: Wards 1, 2 and 15 (Mark Valvasori); Wards 3 and 4 (Ralph Agostino); Ward 5 (Aldo D'Intino); Ward 6 (Ellen Agostino, Peter Mamer, Anthony Mari); Ward 7 (Pat Daly); Wards 12 and 13 (Phil Homerski); Wards 8 and 14 (John Valvasori); Wards 9 and 11 (Louis Agro, Tyler Iorio); Ward 10 (Andrea Di Nicola, Mary Angela Nardini).
Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir: Marcel Levesque.
An updated list of candidates is on the city's website at hamilton.ca.
Incumbent-free races
After 26 years of municipal politics, Coun. Lloyd Ferguson is not seeking another term.
The 72-year-old Ancaster representative announced his retirement from city hall this week.
That means an incumbent-free race in Ward 12, which has five hopefuls: Robert Maton, Craig Cassar, Megg Markettos, Karl Hanley and Cindy Kaye.
Other would-be candidates have until Aug. 19 to make it official.
So far, there are four other ward races where candidates won't face the incumbent's advantage of name recognition.
In Ward 4, longtime east-end veteran Sam Merulla is packing it in.
Ward 5 is another, where Russ Powers, an appointed fill-in last year after Chad Collins became Liberal MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, is not running.
Glanbrook's Brenda Johnson is leaving the contest open in Ward 11. Flamborough councillor Judi Partridge is vacating Ward 15.
It's not certain whether Terry Whitehead - who in June announced he was returning to sick leave for an undisclosed illness - will seek election in the west Mountain's Ward 14.
That leaves Jason Farr, who said this week he hadn't yet decided his political ambitions for the downtown and adjacent neighbourhoods. I'll be announcing one way or another soon," the Ward 2 councillor said. Farr ran for the Liberals in the June 2 provincial election in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, but Neil Lumsden, the Tory candidate, took the prize.
Don't forget the race for the top job. Mayor Fred Eisenberger isn't seeking re-election. So far, Keanin Loomis, Bob Bratina, Ejaz Butt and Steven Hencze are registered candidates.
Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com